PLAYERS in the dairy sector are playing their part in environmental stewardship after agreeing to recycle their packaging.

Industrial packaging contributes tonnes and tonnes of waste which has become an environmental hazard.

Various sectors are however taking a proactive approach in environmental stewardship with the dairy sector coming on board through an agreement signed in Harare this Wednesday.

“We have agreed that we are recycling all our packages that we can collect and starting as early as today we can start collecting our boxes and sending them for recycling,” said Dairy Processors Association of Zimbabwe Secretary General, Mrs Tendai Marecha.

Tetrapak Southern Africa managing director, Mr Klaus Plenge said, “Our ambition is to collect 1 000 tonnes which is really good. It is the beginning, if we can push for more that is our goal and we want to make it sustainable. We don’t want to just collect, we also want to build the whole business case and the whole value chain in recycling.”

Climate and environment experts have welcomed the recycling initiative as a step in the right direction.

“We are entering into the green infrastructure development space, creating more jobs, reducing our waste, but also having less of an environmental impact.

It is exciting to see the policies that we have been taking a step further by working with the government and with EMA to facilitate the implementation,” said Ubuntu Alliance Climate Finance chief executive officer, Ms Chiyedza Heri.

According to a United Nations Environment Programme report, it is estimated that 1.5 million tonnes of municipal solid waste is generated annually in Zimbabwe, and only 16 percent of the refuse is recycled.

ZBC News